Finally done with that monday report...
Sorry, I only had time to skim my friends page... Some intesting stuff in there, I'll comment on it ASAP (as soon as I'm done with my homework).
I wanted to inform everyone who participated in my PAS entry (and to those who read it and didn't want to say anything), I finally got my assignment done! w00t! I'll put the 1,000 word essay behind an cut, if you want to take a look. I mentioned lingychan's comment. ^_^
I must say though, I am pro-PAS, so that is the tone that the report takes. Just FYI.
Monday Report: Increasing Official Support of PAS in Brittan
I chose an article about how the British Medical Association (BMA) has dropped it's official position that physician assisted suicide (PAS) is immoral. The article covers several main points, such as the implications that may occur because of the BMA now taking a neutral position to PAS. I also have a secondary article for referral that talks about a Canadian man that helped his wife commit suicide because of her medical condition, because PAS is unavailable in Canada.
Summary:
The article's focus is on the fact that the British Parliament has been analyzing a law (currently not in place) that would make PAS legal. Since the law was deliberated on for so long, it was removed from consideration, but one person, Lord Joffe, is petitioning to have the law be reconsidered. The vote that the BMA took regarding the official position the association has on PAS, that passed (by a narrow margin, in favor of officially being neutral to PAS) has strengthened the position of Lord Joffe's petition. This change may affect the position of influential lawmakers and help bring the bill back into Parliament’s consideration.
The BMA has kept a negative approach to PAS, believing that permitting PAS would "undermine public confidence in doctors" (Lister, 2005). But with the recent change, the BMA now considers PAS to be acceptable under certain conditions. However, regarding the morality of weather PAS should be allowed or not, the BMA decided that the decision should be "primarily a matter for society and for Parliament [to decide]" (Lister, 2005). Currently, performing PAS on a patient is a crime, punishable by fourteen years in prison.
Response:
I found this article to be interesting, especially in conjunction with a similar article from the Toronto Star, regarding a man that helped his wife commit suicide, after being unable to get help through official channels (PAS in Canada is illegal, being convicted of performing PAS on a patient can lead to a fourteen year prison sentence).
The woman, who was originally found alive (in an unconscious state), the prosecutors decided to not charge the man with assisting in a suicide, but to charge him with attempted murder. However, since the woman died a few days later, the prosecutors have since upgraded the charge to murder, which has a life sentence in Canadian courts. Crimes like these are not uncommon in locations where PAS is illegal, usually ending with the person who performed the "mercy killing" in prison. Canada’s position on PAS was last determined in 1993, when it was deemed illegal by voting, and won by a narrow margin.
I think that what the BMA is on the right track. PAS should be decided by the citizens and refined by lawmakers, whose duty would be to come up with a solution that is fairly liberal and allows for representation of the majority of beliefs on the subject. One thing that I would really like to emphasize is how the BMA is going about their plans for controlling assisted suicides, they plan to "…press for robust safeguards for patients and doctors who did not wish to be involved in such procedures" (Lister, 2005), there by protecting the patients and doctors who disagree with the procedure, or want to ensure that if PAS is permitted, it is for all the right reasons.
Many doctors and patients feel that it is immoral and should be illegal to help someone die, even if that person is terminally ill, and in chronic pain. The problem with that is that some people do not consider it immoral and of those people, who don’t consider PAS immoral, they may want the option of PAS as opposed to living on in chronic pain for the remainder of their days.
Should it be illegal for people to seek non-traditional medications, just because it may not be as affective of a treatment as modern medications? Many people may not understand why someone would forgo state of the art treatment in favor of seeking out acupuncture and rare herbs to treat their illness, but it is still common practice, and quite legal, even if it is not well understood. This parallel example is a question of autonomy, as is assisted suicide: how far may a rational person be allowed to go in respect to his or her own life?
On an open forum, I asked the question: “What do you think of Physician Assisted Suicide?” To my surprise, most of the responders to my question were opposed to it. One commenter said:
“I guess, as with a lot of people, we've always thought that death is something that happens naturally and that cannot be stopped. So when we have the ability to control it and hold that switch in our hands... what do you do? I imagine that this is all interlinked with 'playing God' etc...”
"Playing God," that's a dangerous concept, but one that must be addressed. It is quite difficult to forgo the concept, since the majority of people believe in one form of religion or another; rather PAS must fit into religion. Some religions consider suicide acceptable, but only during certain situations. That’s why I believe that this is a concept best left up to the patient and his or her religion. Should not PAS be legal for those who believe it to be religiously and morally acceptable, and an option for patients who fit into the strict criteria of those whom are allowed to utilize PAS?
With the way that the BMA is going, and if the law to allow PAS goes into affect, then this would then allow doctors and patients to be more conservative or liberal if they so chose in regard to PAS. With the BMA stepping back from the issue, it will allow British lawmakers to decide on how to proceed legally, without the concept that the BMA will consider any PAS immoral for doctors to perform anyway.
With the BMA stepping down from its prior opinion of PAS, it may be a step in a less conservative direction, but it is by no means the legalization of PAS in the Brittan. The law, "Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill," is on consideration by the British Parliament, but it may not pass, and even then, with the morality of PAS being so engraved in the British, it may promote little or no change. Leaving the BMA’s now neutral position of PAS nothing more than an opinion.
References
Lister, S., & Charter, D. (2005). BMA drops its opposition to doctor-assisted suicide. Times Online. Retrieved July 15, 2005, from http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8122-1676243,00.html
Ottawa can't avoid assisted suicide issue. (2005). Toronto Star. Retrieved July 17, 2005, from http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_PrintFriendly&c=Article&cid=1121464223723&call_pageid=96825629020
And Lingychan... I did have a few troubles reading that TimesOnline post... There was some interesting spellings in there ^_^;
I haven't done much more than that so far today, just a lot of reading of articles and writing about those articles. It's actually a lot of academic work to do in one day, and it's not over yet... I've still got to make my daily participation posts. ~sigh, a student's work is never done.
- - - -
I've got a few side notes:
1. Noah hasn't called yet, and I still don't know his phone number. I'm really supprised that he hasn't called or stopped by yet, I'd love to see him. It's only been a few days, eh, it happens. Maybe he's busy or something.
2. That "server weather" post I had earlier today, has turned into a severe thunderstorm. I hate thunderstorms! I used to think they were cool, but now that I realize that all of my expensive electronics could be destroyed with one bolt, I don't like them so much anymore.
I wanted to inform everyone who participated in my PAS entry (and to those who read it and didn't want to say anything), I finally got my assignment done! w00t! I'll put the 1,000 word essay behind an cut, if you want to take a look. I mentioned lingychan's comment. ^_^
I must say though, I am pro-PAS, so that is the tone that the report takes. Just FYI.
Monday Report: Increasing Official Support of PAS in Brittan
I chose an article about how the British Medical Association (BMA) has dropped it's official position that physician assisted suicide (PAS) is immoral. The article covers several main points, such as the implications that may occur because of the BMA now taking a neutral position to PAS. I also have a secondary article for referral that talks about a Canadian man that helped his wife commit suicide because of her medical condition, because PAS is unavailable in Canada.
Summary:
The article's focus is on the fact that the British Parliament has been analyzing a law (currently not in place) that would make PAS legal. Since the law was deliberated on for so long, it was removed from consideration, but one person, Lord Joffe, is petitioning to have the law be reconsidered. The vote that the BMA took regarding the official position the association has on PAS, that passed (by a narrow margin, in favor of officially being neutral to PAS) has strengthened the position of Lord Joffe's petition. This change may affect the position of influential lawmakers and help bring the bill back into Parliament’s consideration.
The BMA has kept a negative approach to PAS, believing that permitting PAS would "undermine public confidence in doctors" (Lister, 2005). But with the recent change, the BMA now considers PAS to be acceptable under certain conditions. However, regarding the morality of weather PAS should be allowed or not, the BMA decided that the decision should be "primarily a matter for society and for Parliament [to decide]" (Lister, 2005). Currently, performing PAS on a patient is a crime, punishable by fourteen years in prison.
Response:
I found this article to be interesting, especially in conjunction with a similar article from the Toronto Star, regarding a man that helped his wife commit suicide, after being unable to get help through official channels (PAS in Canada is illegal, being convicted of performing PAS on a patient can lead to a fourteen year prison sentence).
The woman, who was originally found alive (in an unconscious state), the prosecutors decided to not charge the man with assisting in a suicide, but to charge him with attempted murder. However, since the woman died a few days later, the prosecutors have since upgraded the charge to murder, which has a life sentence in Canadian courts. Crimes like these are not uncommon in locations where PAS is illegal, usually ending with the person who performed the "mercy killing" in prison. Canada’s position on PAS was last determined in 1993, when it was deemed illegal by voting, and won by a narrow margin.
I think that what the BMA is on the right track. PAS should be decided by the citizens and refined by lawmakers, whose duty would be to come up with a solution that is fairly liberal and allows for representation of the majority of beliefs on the subject. One thing that I would really like to emphasize is how the BMA is going about their plans for controlling assisted suicides, they plan to "…press for robust safeguards for patients and doctors who did not wish to be involved in such procedures" (Lister, 2005), there by protecting the patients and doctors who disagree with the procedure, or want to ensure that if PAS is permitted, it is for all the right reasons.
Many doctors and patients feel that it is immoral and should be illegal to help someone die, even if that person is terminally ill, and in chronic pain. The problem with that is that some people do not consider it immoral and of those people, who don’t consider PAS immoral, they may want the option of PAS as opposed to living on in chronic pain for the remainder of their days.
Should it be illegal for people to seek non-traditional medications, just because it may not be as affective of a treatment as modern medications? Many people may not understand why someone would forgo state of the art treatment in favor of seeking out acupuncture and rare herbs to treat their illness, but it is still common practice, and quite legal, even if it is not well understood. This parallel example is a question of autonomy, as is assisted suicide: how far may a rational person be allowed to go in respect to his or her own life?
On an open forum, I asked the question: “What do you think of Physician Assisted Suicide?” To my surprise, most of the responders to my question were opposed to it. One commenter said:
“I guess, as with a lot of people, we've always thought that death is something that happens naturally and that cannot be stopped. So when we have the ability to control it and hold that switch in our hands... what do you do? I imagine that this is all interlinked with 'playing God' etc...”
"Playing God," that's a dangerous concept, but one that must be addressed. It is quite difficult to forgo the concept, since the majority of people believe in one form of religion or another; rather PAS must fit into religion. Some religions consider suicide acceptable, but only during certain situations. That’s why I believe that this is a concept best left up to the patient and his or her religion. Should not PAS be legal for those who believe it to be religiously and morally acceptable, and an option for patients who fit into the strict criteria of those whom are allowed to utilize PAS?
With the way that the BMA is going, and if the law to allow PAS goes into affect, then this would then allow doctors and patients to be more conservative or liberal if they so chose in regard to PAS. With the BMA stepping back from the issue, it will allow British lawmakers to decide on how to proceed legally, without the concept that the BMA will consider any PAS immoral for doctors to perform anyway.
With the BMA stepping down from its prior opinion of PAS, it may be a step in a less conservative direction, but it is by no means the legalization of PAS in the Brittan. The law, "Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill," is on consideration by the British Parliament, but it may not pass, and even then, with the morality of PAS being so engraved in the British, it may promote little or no change. Leaving the BMA’s now neutral position of PAS nothing more than an opinion.
References
Lister, S., & Charter, D. (2005). BMA drops its opposition to doctor-assisted suicide. Times Online. Retrieved July 15, 2005, from http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8122-1676243,00.html
Ottawa can't avoid assisted suicide issue. (2005). Toronto Star. Retrieved July 17, 2005, from http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_PrintFriendly&c=Article&cid=1121464223723&call_pageid=96825629020
And Lingychan... I did have a few troubles reading that TimesOnline post... There was some interesting spellings in there ^_^;
I haven't done much more than that so far today, just a lot of reading of articles and writing about those articles. It's actually a lot of academic work to do in one day, and it's not over yet... I've still got to make my daily participation posts. ~sigh, a student's work is never done.
- - - -
I've got a few side notes:
1. Noah hasn't called yet, and I still don't know his phone number. I'm really supprised that he hasn't called or stopped by yet, I'd love to see him. It's only been a few days, eh, it happens. Maybe he's busy or something.
2. That "server weather" post I had earlier today, has turned into a severe thunderstorm. I hate thunderstorms! I used to think they were cool, but now that I realize that all of my expensive electronics could be destroyed with one bolt, I don't like them so much anymore.